Constitutional changes welcome

The 18th Amendment to the Constitution will be presented in Parliament on Wednesday. This is the first time that Amendments to the current Constitution are being made after President Mahinda Rajapaksa took office in November 2005.

The current Constitution was introduced in 1978 by the then Prime Minister J.R. Jayewardene. The UNP had a landslide victory at the 1977 general election and secured a five-sixth majority in Parliament.

The UNP government, under the Second Amendment of the 1972 Republican Constitution, paved the way for Jayewardene to be sworn in as Sri Lanka's first Executive President on February 4, 1978. His position was further strengthened with the introduction of the new Constitution of 1978.

Although the people voted for the UNP, and Jayewardene was only the Prime Minister, he introduced a new Constitution the following year and with it the Executive Presidency. Although the people's mandate was only for him to be the Prime Minister, Jayewardene exploited the overwhelming majority his ruling UNP secured to become the Executive President, for which there should have been a Presidential election.

In contrast, President Rajapaksa, despite being elected twice to the high office, still believes in Parliamentary democracy. Unlike his predecessors who attended Parliament only for ceremonial sittings, President Rajapaksa visited Parliament more often and followed the proceedings. Under the 18th Amendment, the President hopes to be present in Parliament at least once every three months.

As Minister Susil Premajayantha said, the President would sit in Parliament once every three months sans voting powers but would answer questions from all MPs.

The proposed Constitutional Amendment is brought not just to have the Presidential term extended, as claimed by the main Opposition - the UNP, but to remove the obstacles that prevents a person who has held the Presidency for two terms from contesting again.

Under a democratic system, a person should not be prevented from being re-elected as President, or to any other position for that matter, which is filled by a majority vote. A person should not be barred from contesting the Presidential election purely because he or she had held office for two terms.

A truly democratic Constitution should not be an obstacle, if the majority of people are willing to re-elect a former President for a third term. Former President Jayewardene would have perhaps put such a restriction of only two terms for a President not because he wanted to give other deserving cases a chance,but because he knew he would not stand a chance for a third attempt because of his advancing years.

Section 92 of the Constitution states that citizens who have mental disorders cannot contest the Presidential elections. Nevertheless, a person who has served as the President for two terms should not be put into the category meant for insane people.

The new Amendments to the Constitution would provide an opportunity for a person to contest the Presidential election any number of times. This enables the voters of Sri Lanka to elect whom they wish. Isn't this the five-star democracy the Opposition is bantering about?

Thus, the masses should not be misled by the baseless arguments of the UNP and the JVP, two parties which have been rejected by the masses at successive elections.

These opportunistic Opposition politicians are fully aware of their political nudity and are now attempting to hoodwink the public, looking for shortcuts to regain power come what may. Neither the UNP nor the JVP has any chance whatsoever of toppling the Government. Hence, they are now resorting to mislead the masses to take them for a good ride. The dangers portrayed by the Opposition are in fact non existent.

The 18th Amendment to the Constitution would indisputably re-instate the powers that prevailed prior to 1978 in Parliament and the Cabinet of Ministers. Is there anything amiss in consulting the Members elected to Parliament when making appointments?

The Constitutional Council introduced under the 17th Amendment to the Constitution is to be replaced by a five-member Parliamentary Council, according to the envisaged amendments.

Under the new proposals, the Prime Minister, Speaker, Leader of the Opposition, and two persons proposed by the governing party and those in the Opposition would comprise the proposed Parliamentary Council. To recognise the minorities, it is mandatory to have a Tamil and a Muslim representative each to the Parliamentary Council.

What is significant is that the Parliamentary Council will continue to function even in the event the Parliament is dissolved and would be in force until the new Parliament sits.

The Parliamentary Council will comprise members representing all major ethnic groups. All nominations to the Parliamentary Council will be forwarded to the President within one week and in the event it fails, the President will have the power to make appointments.

There are special provisions to de-list members if necessary. Powers in this regard have been vested with Parliament and the President. If the UNP and the JVP believe strongly in Parliamentary democracy and reposes faith in the people's power, they would not hesitate to support the 18th Amendment which would give more powers to Parliament and its elected members. In opposing the Amendment, is the Opposition trying to tell the masses that empowering Parliament is wrong?

Before rushing to conclusions based on the misleading campaigns of the Opposition, the masses should see the marked difference between the incumbent President and his predecessors, or for that matter all other previous Heads of State since Independence.

No leader other than President Rajapaksa has held so many elections and reposed so much faith in democracy. Unlike former President Jayewardene, who wrapped up the electoral map for six years by postponing elections, President Rajapaksa held all elections as scheduled, some even before the due dates.

This proven track record goes to show that a people-friendly President would never introduce any unhealthy Constitutional reforms.